IN RECENT YEARS, a different kind of dip has risen in popularity in Indianapolis: seafood dips. Through the use of historical preservation techniques and daily seafood deliveries, Indy chefs are putting their own take on the classic appetizer.
Take Magdalena’s smoked whitefish dip. A staple on the restaurant’s ever-changing menu, the whitefish is dried, brined, and smoked before being combined with house-cultured creme fraiche and then served alongside fried saltines. “I grew up going to delis and getting whitefish salad sandwiches,” chef Nick Detrich says. “My grandpa was Hungarian, and he ate a lot of sardines and herring. So there’s something very comforting about that kind of food.”
While Magdalena’s dip elevates the humble whitefish, The Fountain Room’s lobster and crab dip makes expensive shellfish a tad more approachable, both in price and presentation. “It’s not one of our most expensive items on the appetizer side; it’s right in the middle,” executive chef Ricky Martinez says. “But we use the good stuff.” That means jumbo crab meat and, for the lobster, the meat from the claws. Combined with brie, cream cheese, and mozzarella, the dip is served with an herb-butter baguette for a fondue-like dip that embodies indulgence.
